A recent ‘Talking Point’ column demonstrated how apparently pervasive is the divide between Dutch and international student communities, and the misconception that increased social interaction can bridge this divide.
In spite of efforts by university student organizations, this divide is still blatant, because it’s not being attacked at the root. “Is TU Delft obliged to integrate its students?” Lets examine the evidence.
Dutch and international students are segregated into separate quarters . how many Dutch students reside at Leeghwaterstraat 41? And when TU Delft organized temporary housing in 2003, students from the same countries invariably got grouped together. Allow me to quote excerpts from an email I received while serving with MEST (Microelectronics student body). Mr. H. Song writes:
“…After being here for nine months, I’ve got used to life here in general, but I feel ostracized…most foreign students have this feeling. We left our parents, friends, family and motherland to come here. But here we find only a room, not a home, and nothing close to a family, when in fact we long for it…I hope one day we’ll all live like a true family, brothers and sisters – a family of people of all colors and languages….”
These simple words pack such a punch because they ring true to the ears of any international student at TU Delft – we feel excluded and we don’t like it.
Undoubtedly, TU Delft is still struggling to cope with ‘Internationalization’, which, in a sense, is being forced upon the university. In fact, the dependency is symbiotic: the TU needs us just as much as we need the TU, if not more. So why the xenophobic attitude, covered by a blanket of hypocrisy and denial? It would be interesting to hold a referendum among international students to prove this right or wrong. We came to this country as student consumers of our own right of merit and we pay eight times that of a local student’s tuition fee. We people are talent imported into this country and a valuable asset waiting to be harnessed – so why are we treated as second-class citizens and outsiders?
I’m told that xenophobia is significantly lower in the Netherlands compared to other places, and that while the situation here isn’t perfect, it’s the ‘best deal’. To be fair, there indeed are many positives. But while this may be true, another angle would be to capitalize on this unique opportunity to amalgamate students from such variegated backgrounds. Even in ‘Internationalization’, it’s the details that make the difference and the TU is in dire need of propagating a paradigm shift towards that end. For a university deep-seated in tradition and history, this is not a trivial challenge. But Internationalization doesn’t stop at just importing international research talent; it also means knowing how to treat such talent. We international students are the best brand ambassadors for TU Delft and the Netherlands abroad. Is it too much to ask that we be made to feel welcome and at home?
Ramesh Chidambaram, 23, India, MSc Microelectronics. In the coming weeks, Ramesh will begin writing a regular, four-weekly column for Delta’s page 06.
A recent ‘Talking Point’ column demonstrated how apparently pervasive is the divide between Dutch and international student communities, and the misconception that increased social interaction can bridge this divide. In spite of efforts by university student organizations, this divide is still blatant, because it’s not being attacked at the root. “Is TU Delft obliged to integrate its students?” Lets examine the evidence.
Dutch and international students are segregated into separate quarters . how many Dutch students reside at Leeghwaterstraat 41? And when TU Delft organized temporary housing in 2003, students from the same countries invariably got grouped together. Allow me to quote excerpts from an email I received while serving with MEST (Microelectronics student body). Mr. H. Song writes:
“…After being here for nine months, I’ve got used to life here in general, but I feel ostracized…most foreign students have this feeling. We left our parents, friends, family and motherland to come here. But here we find only a room, not a home, and nothing close to a family, when in fact we long for it…I hope one day we’ll all live like a true family, brothers and sisters – a family of people of all colors and languages….”
These simple words pack such a punch because they ring true to the ears of any international student at TU Delft – we feel excluded and we don’t like it.
Undoubtedly, TU Delft is still struggling to cope with ‘Internationalization’, which, in a sense, is being forced upon the university. In fact, the dependency is symbiotic: the TU needs us just as much as we need the TU, if not more. So why the xenophobic attitude, covered by a blanket of hypocrisy and denial? It would be interesting to hold a referendum among international students to prove this right or wrong. We came to this country as student consumers of our own right of merit and we pay eight times that of a local student’s tuition fee. We people are talent imported into this country and a valuable asset waiting to be harnessed – so why are we treated as second-class citizens and outsiders?
I’m told that xenophobia is significantly lower in the Netherlands compared to other places, and that while the situation here isn’t perfect, it’s the ‘best deal’. To be fair, there indeed are many positives. But while this may be true, another angle would be to capitalize on this unique opportunity to amalgamate students from such variegated backgrounds. Even in ‘Internationalization’, it’s the details that make the difference and the TU is in dire need of propagating a paradigm shift towards that end. For a university deep-seated in tradition and history, this is not a trivial challenge. But Internationalization doesn’t stop at just importing international research talent; it also means knowing how to treat such talent. We international students are the best brand ambassadors for TU Delft and the Netherlands abroad. Is it too much to ask that we be made to feel welcome and at home?
Ramesh Chidambaram, 23, India, MSc Microelectronics. In the coming weeks, Ramesh will begin writing a regular, four-weekly column for Delta’s page 06.
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